Judge will hear arguments Wednesday on whether proposed affordable housing in Princeton for the elderly and disabled can go forward.
By: Jennifer Potash
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg is expected to hear arguments Wednesday on whether the proposed Elm Court expansion for affordable housing for the elderly and disabled can go forward.
The Sierra Club and some adjacent neighbors to the complex, located on Elm Road, are objecting to an out-of-court settlement reached by Princeton Community Housing Inc., which runs Elm Court, the Mountain Brook Homeowners Association, Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and the Princeton Regional Planning Board.
Under the settlement, which was presented June 6 to Judge Feinberg, 68 new housing units would be built on 14 acres of borough-owned land along Elm Road in Princeton Township. Elm Court now has 89 units.
The settlement was agreed to last year by PCH, the borough, the township, the Regional Planning Board and the Mountain Brook Homeowners Association, which comprises 27 families.
The homeowners’ association sought to limit the expansion, originally planned as 74 units, along with the impact of the project’s lighting and parking on the neighborhood. The residents filed a lawsuit in March 1999 naming the borough, the township, the Planning Board and Princeton Community Housing as defendants which challenged the Planning Board’s December 1998 decision to create a property subdivision and easement behind Elm Court for a new 7.5-acre lot. The residents claimed in the suit that a 38-year-old deed restriction limited the area around the Elm Court complex to single-family homes.
The Princeton Township Committee removed the deed restriction in May 1999, allowing the expansion plans to go forward.
The residents objecting to the settlement claim their properties, some of which abut the proposed Elm Court expansion, have deeds that prohibit development of that site, according to William Potter, the attorney representing the residents.
Richard Goldman, the attorney who represents the Mountain Brook Association, has said the settlement does not limit the rights of those residents who did not join the lawsuit.
The Sierra Club has raised objections to the municipalities’ attempts to use open space and wetlands for Elm Court expansion.

